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A balanced breakfast can help children performbetter in school by improving memory, alertness,concentration, problem-solving ability and mood. see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2014.10.005 Johanna Dwyer, DSc,RD

Several factors play a role in developing insulin resistance, including your activity level and how much body fat you have. However, it’s specifically where you carry extra weight that best predicts insulin resistance, say reserchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and at the university o Maryland in College Park.

In a a study of 407 healthy men and women between the ages of 50 and 95, the researcher found that abdominal fat, most apparent in those with an “apple” shape, predicted insulin resistance better than either total body fat or cardiovascular fitness.

In the study, participants took an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to determine their insulin sensitivity. They drank a sugary drink after a 10- to 12-hour fast, and then researchers took blood samples. The more insulin in a participant’s blood, the more resistant his or her cells were to insulin.

Participants then took a treadmill test to determine their cardiovascular fitness. Next, researchers measured the participants’ total body fat, including their body mass index. Then researchers measure each participant’s waist circumference to gauge abdominal fat.

When the researchers compared the results of the participants’ OGTTs, they found that participants with large waist circumference were more likely to be insulin resistant than their counterparts with smaller waistlines, even among those with the same level of cardiovascular fitness or amount of total body fat.

In their conclusion, the researchers recommend that health care providers consider waist circumference when determining a patient’s risk of insulin resistance.